Midcentury Lane
Late 20th Century American Minimalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Olive
Late 20th Century American Artisan Choker Necklaces
Onyx, Gold
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Dressers
Wood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Oak, Lacquer, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Rosewood, Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Enamel
20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century American Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Faux Leather, Walnut, Cedar
Mid-20th Century Unknown Brutalist End Tables
Smoked Glass, Wood
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Metal
20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1990s American Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Composition, Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Plastic, Wood
2010s Abstract Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Stretcher Bars, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Walnut
Antique Late 18th Century English George III Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique Mid-19th Century British Victorian Historical Memorabilia
Copper
1950s American Realist Portrait Photography
Lambda
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Blanket Chests
Cedar
2010s Polish Post-Modern Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Dressers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Blanket Chests
Walnut, Wood, Cedar
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Buffets
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Oak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut, Glass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Rosewood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut, Wood
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1990s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Ceramic, Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Burl
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Rosewood, Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Mid-20th Century End Tables
Wood
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Midcentury Lane For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Midcentury Lane?
A Close Look at Mid-century-modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
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This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet
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